CVE-2021-41090 Vulnerability Analysis & Exploit Details

CVE-2021-41090
Vulnerability Scoring

6.5
/10
High Risk

If left unpatched, CVE-2021-41090 could lead to major system disruptions or data loss.

Attack Complexity Details

  • Attack Complexity: Low
    Exploits can be performed without significant complexity or special conditions.
  • Attack Vector: Network
    Vulnerability is exploitable over a network without physical access.
  • Privileges Required: None
    No privileges are required for exploitation.
  • Scope: Unchanged
    Exploit remains within the originally vulnerable component.
  • User Interaction: None
    No user interaction is necessary for exploitation.

CVE-2021-41090 Details

Status: Modified

Last updated: 🕕 21 Nov 2024, 06:25 UTC
Originally published on: 🕔 08 Dec 2021, 17:15 UTC

Time between publication and last update: 1078 days

CVSS Release: version 3

CVSS3 Source

security-advisories@github.com

CVSS3 Type

Secondary

CVSS3 Vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N

CVE-2021-41090 Vulnerability Summary

CVE-2021-41090: Grafana Agent is a telemetry collector for sending metrics, logs, and trace data to the opinionated Grafana observability stack. Prior to versions 0.20.1 and 0.21.2, inline secrets defined within a metrics instance config are exposed in plaintext over two endpoints: metrics instance configs defined in the base YAML file are exposed at `/-/config` and metrics instance configs defined for the scraping service are exposed at `/agent/api/v1/configs/:key`. Inline secrets will be exposed to anyone being able to reach these endpoints. If HTTPS with client authentication is not configured, these endpoints are accessible to unauthenticated users. Secrets found in these sections are used for delivering metrics to a Prometheus Remote Write system, authenticating against a system for discovering Prometheus targets, and authenticating against a system for collecting metrics. This does not apply for non-inlined secrets, such as `*_file` based secrets. This issue is patched in Grafana Agent versions 0.20.1 and 0.21.2. A few workarounds are available. Users who cannot upgrade should use non-inline secrets where possible. Users may also desire to restrict API access to Grafana Agent with some combination of restricting the network interfaces Grafana Agent listens on through `http_listen_address` in the `server` block, configuring Grafana Agent to use HTTPS with client authentication, and/or using firewall rules to restrict external access to Grafana Agent's API.

Assessing the Risk of CVE-2021-41090

Access Complexity Graph

The exploitability of CVE-2021-41090 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).

Exploitability Analysis for CVE-2021-41090

With low attack complexity and no required privileges, CVE-2021-41090 is an easy target for cybercriminals. Organizations should prioritize immediate mitigation measures to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches.

Understanding AC and PR

A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.

Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.

Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.

CVSS Score Breakdown Chart

Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2021-41090, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.

CIA Impact Analysis

Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2021-41090, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.

  • Confidentiality: Low
    CVE-2021-41090 could lead to minor leaks of non-critical information without major privacy breaches.
  • Integrity: Low
    Exploiting CVE-2021-41090 may cause minor changes to data without severely impacting its accuracy.
  • Availability: None
    CVE-2021-41090 does not impact system availability.

Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS)

The EPSS score estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the near future.

EPSS Score: 0.284% (probability of exploit)

EPSS Percentile: 68.94% (lower percentile = lower relative risk)
This vulnerability is less risky than approximately 31.060000000000002% of others.

CVE-2021-41090 References

External References

CWE Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-312

CAPEC Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification

  • Retrieve Embedded Sensitive Data CAPEC-37 An attacker examines a target system to find sensitive data that has been embedded within it. This information can reveal confidential contents, such as account numbers or individual keys/credentials that can be used as an intermediate step in a larger attack.

Vulnerable Configurations

  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc0:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc0:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.14.0:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.15.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.15.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.16.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.16.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.16.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.16.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.17.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.17.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.18.4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.19.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.19.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.20.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.20.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.21.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.21.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
  • cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.21.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
    cpe:2.3:a:grafana:agent:0.21.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

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